A week after Republicans crowed about a poll showing ex-Rep. Bob Schaffer virtually tied with Democratic Rep. Mark Udall, Democrats are touting their own poll that shows Udall with a much bigger lead.

The poll, conducted by Harstad Strategic Research for Udall's campaign, surveyed 752 likely voters between 9/7-9 for a margin of error of +/- 3.6%. Udall, Schaffer, Green Party candidate Bob Kinsey and American Constitution Party Doug Campbell were tested.

General Election Matchup
Udall.........45
Schaffer......34
Campbell.......3
Kinsey.........2

The Democrat's poll also shows Coloradans give Udall the edge on key comparisons between the candidates. Udall is seen as more on the side of the middle class by a nineteen-point margin, and more say he shares their values by a fourteen-point gap.

Schaffer and other outside groups have pounded Udall over energy issues, so much so that the Democrat has been more vocal in his support for limited drilling in the Outer-Continental Shelf, something one doesn't always expect from a member of the Udall clan.

But despite the attacks, voters think Udall has the right approach to dealing with energy issues and dependence on foreign oil by a surprisingly strong sixteen-point margin. If Coloradans continue to choose Udall's approach over Schaffer's, the Republican may have found that energy issues aren't the political silver bullet the GOP long hoped it was.

The poll is a direct response to a Natonal Republican Senatorial Committee poll out last week that showed Udall leading by a single point, 41%-40%. Most independent surveys have shown Udall with a lead somewhere between one point and eleven points.